I’m Back!

Wowww I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 full months since I’ve updated, I’m sorry! Honestly I just haven’t been motivated to write anything lately. I blame the weather mostly, it’s been too chilly to get out and have fun, so I’ve held off on anymore adventures until the weather gets warmer. I think this week is the beginning of nice weather; hopefully this time its a more permanent change. But I haven’t just been cooped up doing nothing everyday. On one of the better days during my vacation, I hopped on the bus and went exploring. I went to Daejeon, which is the closest major city to my location. I took some pictures, but the most important experience I took away from this adventure was seeing the Daejeon World Cup Stadium. This stadium featured a few games from the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

Nowadays it is the home stadium of Daejeon Citizen, a K-League team. Just trying to imagine what it was like to be there 8 years ago during the South Korea vs. Italy game gives me chills. I remember watching that game from my television back in Canada while I was still in high school. To think now, I was actually able to see the stadium in person, it’s amazing to me. This adventure was actually done on a whim, so I didn’t really have a plan, nor did I know where anything was in Daejeon. With that being said, the city is pretty unforgiving to non-residents. Public transportation is quite under-developed, they only have 1 subway line, and access to that subway is nowhere near the bus terminal. With that being said, the stadium was the crux of my adventure. But I still had a good time, and in the end that is all that matters.

Last weekend I was in Seoul meeting up with some friends, and on Sunday morning (or was it afternoon hah) we decided to do some sightseeing. My friend lives in Seodaemun in Seoul, which is home to a very important historical landmark, the Seodaemun Prison. Basically, in 1907 while Japan occupied Korea, a prison was built. The prison was used to house Korean anti-colonial (read: anti-Japan) activists. Here, they were tortured, murdered, and generally treated as poorly as you can imagine. It was a very interesting place for its historical value, but it was also extremely sad to walk through. They had statues and figures portraying torture scenes inside the cells, and they don’t hold back at all. It was heartbreaking to see how poorly human-beings were treated during this time, and it’s even worse to think about how it wasn’t the first time something like this happened. More importantly, thinking about how dead set the world is on repeating these mistakes over and over again. This is why I try to keep myself out of politics and war, it makes me extremely angry. On a brighter note, we had a super-cool volunteer tour guide who did an amazing job of telling us the details of everything, despite his young age.

Two days ago (Saturday), I attended my Principals’ sons wedding in Seosan. This is the second Korean wedding I’ve been too, and it was very much like the first one. The ceremony is completely different to back home, so it’s really interesting to experience. As usual, I was the only foreign person, so I was getting stared at like crazy. I decided to suit up so I ended up having double exposure (well-dressed and foreign). Both the bride and groom looked great, and although you could tell the groom was nervous as hell, they both seemed to be having the time of their lives.

I am back into my school routine, this year I work Monday and Tuesday at the Middle School, then Wednesday-Friday at the Elementary School. It’s strange to see my grade 6’s from last year as Grade 1 Middle School students now. They still act like Elementary School students,.. until they get scolded by the teachers. They’ll get used to it soon I imagine. I played soccer with them during lunch today, so everything is great.

I have just over 3 months left, last time I posted I had just over 5 months left, funny how that happens eh? Sorry to delay posting for so long, I’ll try not to let it happen again. Hope everyone is doing well! Congrats to my brother for selling our place and getting a new one with his awesome fiance! I can’t wait to see you guys, and the new place, sorry I can’t help!